화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol.323, 527-536, 2017
Decomposition of sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim by continuous UVA/LED/TiO2 photocatalysis: Decomposition pathways, residual antibacterial activity and toxicity
In this study, continuous LEDIUVA/TiO2 photocatalytic decomposition of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP) was investigated. More than 90% of SMX and TMP were removed within 20 min by the continuous photoreactor (with the initial concentration of 400 ppb for each). The removal rates of SMX and TMP decreased with higher initial antibiotics loadings. SMX was much easier decomposed in acidic condition, while pH affected little on TMP's decomposition. 0.003% was found to be the optimum H2O2 dosage to enhance SMX photocatalytic decomposition. Decomposition pathways of SMX and TMP were proposed based on the intermediates identified by using LC-MS-MS and GC-MS. Aniline was identified as a new intermediate generated during SMX photocatalytic decomposition. Antibacterial activity study with a reference Escherichia coli strain was also conducted during the photocatalytic process. Results indicated that with every portion of TMP removed, the residual antibacterial activity decreased by one portion. However, the synergistic effect between SMX and TMP tended to slow down the antibacterial activity removal of SMX and TMP mixture. Chronic toxicity studies conducted with Vibrio fischeri exhibited 13-20% bioluminescence inhibition during the decomposition of 1 ppm SMX and 1 ppm TMP, no acute toxicity to V. fischeri was observed during the photocatalytic process. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.